Well, this is either incredibly sad or utterly hilarious. Apple will stop selling the Mac Pro in Europe on 1 March... Because it doesn't comply with "new" European regulations that will come into effect that day. I say "new" between quotation marks because said regulation was announced four years ago. The regulation deals with increased protection requirements concerning electrical ports and fan guards. "The new requirements necessitate fan guards and some increased protection on the ports on the electrical system," explained Apple, "Because Mac Pro is not compliant with the regulations, we do want to meet that regulation and therefore not offer Mac Pro beyond 1 March." So, a standards body is faster at updating its standards than Apple is at updating its Mac Pro. It illustrates just how much Apple cares about pro users. The last significant update to the Mac Pro occurred in 2010, but Tim Cook did promise an update to the product later in 2013.

This is also why I'm all for a little more safety in consumer equipment [...] Although in this instance I'm thinking of tiny fingers exploring fan grilles. Yes, probably only a minor cut and a crying fit, but if a little change in the design can make that a little less likely, why not?

Because those little changes in design cost companies money which costs customers money. And because those little changes cost regulators money which costs taxpayers money. And because getting a minor cut and crying fit after sticking your fingers into a whirring, bleeping slab of machinery is a valuable life lesson that its not worth spending money on eradicating.